Bellow's Falls

Joe Gunther #8

by Archer Mayor Tri

Mayor delivers another superb combination of case, characters and local color and brings it all to life without a wasted word. -- starred, "Publishers Weekly"
Honoring a request to conduct a minor Internal Affairs investigation for a small-town police department, Joe Gunther travels upriver to the town of Bellows Falls. But there's more to this case than a young officer's embarrassment. Soon rumors of police corruption, spousal abuse, drug deals and murder begin to engulf the little river town -- and Joe is the one responsible for separating fact from fiction, which is becoming a dangerous task . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Procedural

242 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series seems to be a reliable source of believable and engaging police procedurals that highlight the rural environment of Vermont. Among the four I’ve read out of 25 in the set of tales featuring Joe Gunther of the Vermont Bureau of Investigation, I sampled the first, last, and a couple in between. Gunther stands out against the crowd of noir detectives with deeply troubled souls and troubles with alcohol and/or violence. I put him mentally with the set of rurally based detectives who try hard to play by the rules but are not quite Boy Scouts. He is not as colorfully comic as Sanford’s Detective Virgil Flowers, as stolidly brave as Craig Johnson’s Sheriff Longmire, or as tormented as Krueger’s PI Cork O’Conner, but he has some off their relentless determination to find justice and casual bravery in the face of danger.

This tale starts with Gunther, at this point a lieutenant with the Brattleboro police, helping with the investigative review of a case of sexual harassment by a police officer of the old mill town of Bellows Falls. The woman involved is a teenaged wife of an older man suspected of being a drug dealer. Gunther’s investigations. Joe finds soon himself in tough straits as the criminal elements and the powers-that-be in the town both resist his poking around. He can’t tell if the mayor’s office and police administration are in cahoots with the criminals or are just obsessive about suppressing any scandal that could hurt the town’s reputation and thus its economic outlook. His insights lead him to suspect the drug dealer has a statewide network using young men as local staff, and he gets enough evidence to get himself assigned as leader of a task force out of the Attorney General’s office.

There is a modest body count, and Joe ends up making mistakes and getting into some dangerous situations. Luckily, he has a good woman, Gail, to support him through the tough times. Gail is a doctor who works with the medical examiner’s office and is able to draw him out to ease the poison of too much darkness. Here he admits that the case is ganging up with old ghosts:

Gail shifted around and slipped her arm across my chest. I could hear the clinical neutrality in her voice as she gently prodded. “Are they saying anything that makes sense?”
I laughed to set her at ease. “Yes, doctor, they all agree I’m going nuts.”
She didn’t laugh with me. “Are you?”
I moved my own arm around to cradle her head, embarrassed by trying to put her off. We’d been through a lot together. She deserved honesty when she asked for it. “No, I’m just piling on the baggage with this one. I don’t know if it’s a critical-mass problem, or just these particular people, but I’m feeling more and more weighted down by what I’m finding.”
“Like what?”
“Name it: teenage mothers on coke, a young boy in a menage a trois, a cop probably being set up by his addict lover, a guy using kids to run a drug ring. Things’re looking pretty bleak …”
“You’ve been wading through the dregs for decades, Joe. Some of it’s got to stick.”
…I had to reach back to my youth on a farm halfway up the state, to recall when most of the faces around me were smiling and unfettered by turmoil.

I love the sense of place and community in Mayor’s work. His leaning to a bit of sociology fits with his compassion for victims and some of those led astray to crime and corruption. His crime stories owe their realism to his work as a police officer in Vermont, as well as an EMT firefighter and investigator for the state medical examiner. His Goodreads profile notes that his many jobs over the years “makes him restless, curious, unemployable, or all three”.

[Diamond Cowboy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kept me at the edge of my seat. It concerns an investigation of a cop for domestic violents, buts turns up so much more.
There is a drug ring that the investigaters have to break up, but the drug ring is really well organised and gives them troubles. I highly recommend you all read this one.

[Erth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great as always. This fast paced mystery is interesting and engaging and has left us (my mother and me) coming back for more! I've already bought the next one in the series and never want it to end!

[Jerry B · Rating 3 out of 5]

We’re reading Mayor’s 30-book, Vermont-based lead detective Joe Gunther series in order, with now “Falls” our eighth in the set. These police procedurals tend to have complicated and suspenseful enough plots to engage one’s interest – but are marred in our opinion by unrealistic “chase” scenes featuring Joe often as victim when much younger police officers would otherwise be better choices for those encounters. We are reminded of similar TV cop shows where the star has to be the first person through the door, despite his/her questionable appropriateness for doing so!

This tale is mostly set in a nearby struggling small Vermont town somewhat overcome by modern times. A policeman is accused of sexual harassment and outsider Joe is brought in to investigate. A much larger set of issues soon materialize, suggesting a drug ring supported mostly by juvenile runners is afoot throughout the state – and naturally Joe is “picked” to lead that charge, with frankly predictable results.

Despite 30 novels surely suggesting the popularity of this series, we finding ourselves almost wishing there was something or someone else injected into the tales to attract our attention – like maybe a rough and tumble female partner to handle some of the manhunts. Joe’s live-in squeeze Gail provides some degree of diversion; but her role, as herein, is often quite limited. For now, we plan to press on. {3.5}

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got exactly what I signed up for with this one. Reasonably engaging police procedural, scenic interest in my own home state, some shenanigans and peril, modest character development.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Police Lt. Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, Vermont, police department has been chosen for a task he dreads: an internal investigation of a young police officer in the small neighboring town of Bellows Falls. The young man has been accused of sexual harassment by the wife of a man who dwells on the outskirts of crime. The husband is suspected of running a lucrative drug ring involving crews of teenagers and then murderously disposing of the teens once they become dangerous to his plans. Joe is not looking forward to the investigation into one of his own and is shocked when the woman suddenly drops the charges. Putting the case behind him, Joe is ready to return home when new charges are brought against the young officer: drug charges. The young man tests positive for cocaine and a stash is found in his home. Something does not ring true to Joe and it all smells like a frame job. Proving it becomes a dangerous dance with the drug kingpin and his cohorts, one that might prove fatal.

Joe Gunther is my other favorite Joe, another being Joe Pickett of the C.J. Box series. He is an upstanding guy in what would seem to be an idyllic place - rural Vermont - but crime happens everywhere. This particular book put Joe in quite a bit of danger in some very unusual circumstances. It's another good one.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook. Joe Gunther is a cop in Brattleboro, Vermont. In this episode Joe is asked to help another small town police department. In Bellows Falls an officer has been accused of sexual harassment. Joe goes to provide an outside, independent investigation. He thinks that it should be a quick investigation. The accused officer is well liked by his colleagues. The husband of the woman he is accused of harassing made the complaint. Joe discovers that the officer was actually having an affair with the woman. Before he can wrap up his investigation, an anonymous tipster claims the same officer takes drugs and tells the police exactly where to find drugs hidden in his house. The officer tests positive for cocaine and drugs are found in the house. The husband is well known as a master manipulator and probably a drug dealer. He charms young teenagers to be his drug dealers. The more Joe digs the more he is convinced that this is all a set up. Joe gets the Attorney General’s office involved in uncovering the drug network set up by the husband. Things turn violent when the careful network of drug dealers starts unraveling. This book is fast paced and exciting. A good read.

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Joe Gunther story sees him seconded to the States Attorney- well written at pace as usual

[Judith von Kirchbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who like this or any police procedural series, as I do, this is another good one. I especially like the Vermont setting in these books as they are pretty descriptive of the towns and scenery in my beloved New England state. Joe Gunther feels like a real relatable person and the interagency work description seems very real as well ! Intricacies of Vermont’s law like the inquest are respected !

[Ensiform · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this Joe Gunther novel, he is asked to go to the titular town in order to serve as a disinterested third-party police investigator of allegations of sexual harassment by an officer. What he finds is of course nowhere near so simple: instead, it’s a secret web of drug running, frame-ups, and murder, all manipulated by the husband of the supposed victim, a low-grade criminal mastermind.

It’s got all the Mayor hallmarks: the labyrinthine plot, the large (sometimes too large) cast of characters, the palpable and intricately researched Vermont landscape, and this time not one but three solo chases where Gunther breaks or loses his radio! The series is predictable, solid, convincing police procedural material, but not vastly superior, and the books are more or less cut from the same cloth; I don’t really know why I keep reading it.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mayor is a good writer, and I have enjoyed other books in this series, but one thing that has started to wear on me is the apparent necessity of including at least 3 or 4 detailed chase scenes in each book. In this book, in addition to that type of scene, which I find tiresome (not so much their inclusion but the length and depth of their descriptions), I missed Gail. Since part of what I find intriguing in this series is the mature, growing / changing relationship between Joe and Gail, her being mostly absent from the story contributed to my lack of enthusiasm for this book. Consequently, I found myself skimming through the last 30 pages ( of mostly chase scenes) pretty quickly.

[Tulay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this series.

Characters in these series are becoming like old friends. Beautiful small towns in Vermont, small police departments trying to keep up with illegal drug trafficking. Abused women and children. Hope one day Joe and Gail retire and enjoy life and each other.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the fact that the author writes about real cities & towns in VT. His stories are very well written.

[Katy M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read one other Archer Mayor book. I liked this one much better. Exciting action sequences. Not quite a mystery as we know who the bad guy is the entire time, but still quite interesting.

[Geri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the fact that the area that this takes place is
very close to where I live. Not only that but I have
been to Bellows Falls. Interesting read.

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 8th book in the mystery series that features Brattleboro, Vermont veteran police lieutenant, Joe Gunther. These stories fit the police procedural genre. A crime or potential crime is under investigation and Detective Gunther follows the clues and police procedures as the investigation unfolds. There are plot twists that keep the story fresh as the clues are revealed. There is suspense and tension in the story, but that is not the main reason for the story. They are part of a “normal”
day’s work for a police detective. So, super hero efforts are not required; but bravery and dogged determination are. Joe Gunther is similar to a Joe Friday of Dragnet fame type of character, just more animated and personable that Joe Friday ever was. The supporting cast of characters come across as very realistic people with dialogue that fits the characters. The key to my interest in this mystery series is the unraveling of the clues and the insight into actual police procedures and investigation techniques. They are all intricately plotted with satisfying conclusions based upon the investigation. There are no last-minute surprises that come out of the blue or clues explained after the crime is solved that were initially withheld from the reader. This story starts out as a police officer in another city’s jurisdiction, namely Bellows Falls, Vermont being accused of sexual harassment by a civilian woman. Detective Gunter of Brattleboro is assigned to this case in order to give the public at least an appearance of objectivity as opposed to an internal departmental investigation. Plot twists quickly expand the investigation far beyond the scope of a sexual harassment story.

[Richard Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the Goodreads Review: Honoring a request to conduct a minor Internal Affairs investigation for a small-town police department, Joe Gunther travels upriver to the town of Bellows Falls. But there's more to this case than a young officer's embarrassment. Soon rumors of police corruption, spousal abuse, drug deals and murder begin to engulf the little river town.

Mayor's narrative hook to get Joe to Bellows Falls — the complaint against the young cop — is kind of weak; the accusation is so thin and unbelievable the reader eventually has to blink and let it go: "Okay, we need a reason for Joe to be poking his nose in... it's weak but let's just go with it." Other than that the plot works well. Some strong new characters including a sergeant working for the Bellows Falls PD, and the two agents from the AG's office who are working Joe. A very nasty bad guy. A lot of architecture. A bit too much Energize Bunny. But a good read.

This was book #29 on our 2022 Read-alouds List With Lutrecia, and book #37 on our own 2022 Read-alouds List.

[Tbfrank · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has hit his stride in this novel written in the late 90's. Not a lot of depth of character in the existing cast and the key additions for this tale are sketched in well enough to be a bit more than stereotypes. Still the plot kept me engaged as Joe Gunther criss-crossed Vermont and environs to unravel a tangled web. The climatic scenes are reminescent of a couple of other installments: a dark building at night, the bad guy hiding inside, and a chase through a milling crowd. The ending was foreshadowed very early on and stretches the reader's credulity though realisticly constructed. The author's love of the state comes through in his descriptions of the geography, towns, and remaining architecture.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Older Joe Gunther mystery, told in first person. Set in a struggling town (Bellows Falls), Joe is called in to investigate misconduct charges against a young police officer. In the process of investigating, Joe uncovers a drug ring and a bunch of other nefarious activities. What I liked best about this story, however was the study of the impact the false accusation had on the young police officer--even though he was totally cleared of all charges, he had been, in effect, found guilty by the public and his peers, and he struggles--pretty much without support from anyone other than Joe to make sense of all of it.

[David C Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. There’s a good plot at the center of this one, about drug dealing in the failed town of Bellows Falls, but Mayor tends to be verbose (he puts the procedure in police procedural) and there’s just too much description - of Vermont, of buildings, of bureaucracy, of state of mind - and much too much simply poor police work in order to keep the plot moving. Also, there’s no way a snitch is going to meet at 10 in the morning on the gantry in a theater with the orchestra practicing below. The ending is similarly melodramatic as Mayor too frequently ends his chases in the midst of large civic gatherings.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has been some time since I’ve read one of Joe Gunther‘s escapades, but I had no problem getting right into this one. In fact, this could easily be a standalone if someone has not read any others. Gunther is involved in a problem in the police department of a small town so there are different characters anyway. He has a way of getting entangled in hairy situations. In fact, I was awake longer one night than I intended because I had to find out how Gunther made it. This is a good series to fall back on when you don’t know what to read next.

[M. Sprouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the seven previous books in the Joe Gunther series, this is right near the top. This series has been a slow read for me as the books are always quite detailed with descriptions and police procedures. I could stand for a little less of that. However, this one moved fairly fast and wasn't as lengthy as others in the series. It was interesting and straight forward with a good amount of suspense and a couple of twist. Overall, I'll say it's in 4 star territory, but I can see why others might not rate it so high.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

#8 in the Vermont police 50 something year old lieutenant joe Gunther mystery series. This a very good police procedural series showing the nitty gritty day-to-day investigating work to solve a mystery.

Joe Gunther is seconded to the neighboring town of Bellows Falls to investigate harassment allegations against a fellow officer. What begins as a seemingly open-and-shut case comes to look more and more like a frame job as Gunther doggedly pursues the truth, and soon finds himself feeling around the edges of a statewide drug distribution network and the man in control of it.

[PLS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Mayor continues to demonstrate his abilities writing a procedural story as well as the best description of action scenes that I've read. For some reason that I can not clearly identify, I do not connect with the characters as well as in other books, hence 4 rather than 5 stars. That being said, I will soon be starting book #9 and expect it will be as enjoyable as the others I've read in the series.

[Andrew Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Mayor's shortest books but it is almost fully contained in the small town of Bellow Falls, Vermont. A local cop has been accused of moral wrongdoing and a depleted police force must turn to Joe Gunther to conduct an honest and thorough investigation. Mayor uses the book to give an accurate description of small town Vermont from its rural glamour to its seedy undertones. A good read that can be easily be captured in a single day.

[Heidi Quinn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn’t get through this one. If I’m honest, I only bought it because of its title—I grew up 5 miles from Bellows Falls and wanted to see it described in print. It seems like a accurate portrayal as far as I read. The writing is tedious and it’s detail overly observant of the “who cares?”—in other words, too much like my own writing, which I feel is amateurish and inelegant. Too bad. I was really hoping to enjoy it.

[Kimberly Morehouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has been so great. I love that even though it takes place in a town that really shouldn't see this level of crime, the author finds ways to make it work. Moving to other towns in the state for some, even taking it out of state at times. The mystery with each is always multi faceted and keeps you guessing. I have enjoyed each and every one so far and will be happily reading my way through all 30 plus books in the series.

[LindaJ^ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered that the vast majority of this series was available for free to read to Audible members and immediately added nos. 2-11 to my library and went on a Joe Gunther splurge. Reading them back to back reveals some weaknesses. Joe Gunther makes a lot of rather dumb decisions. He has more lives than a cat. But the series provides entertainment, especially when walking and bike riding. I won't be writing reviews for each book at this time.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe is investigating a harassment charge against an officer in Bellows Falls, when he discovers threads that lead back to the disappearance of a low level drug dealer in his home town. I thought the plot had a lot of promise, but ended up not liking this book as well as some of the others. In the end, Joe makes a series of bad decisions, knowing they are bad, and pursues the villain single handedly to the river where nature takes care of things.

[Deb W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having now listened to the first eight in the series, Joe Gunther is becoming a bit wearing. Perhaps it's just the times, or my advancing age, but I am growing weary with adult men thinking they have all the answers and are the hero of every story. Archer needs to expand the action to other viewpoints than Joe's.